OM* Not!

When I was a young I use to spout out OM* all the time. That is until my dad said in a thundering voice, “Cathy, I don’t ever want to hear you take the Lord’s name in vain again!” Let’s just say, he put the fear of God in me.

Recently, I decided to strike out in rebellion. No, I’ve not gone back to saying OM*. Instead, I’m using “OMC!” Nope, that’s not a typo. OMC = Oh my, Cathy!  I got to thinking about how loosely God’s name is used and I thought, “How would I feel if I heard my name all the time as God hears his?”

As a Mom and I know you can fully relate to what I’m saying, I’ve heard my name repeated at least a gazillion times throughout the day when my children were small. Sometimes it was important, but most was not.

I’m not God. I am to be honored, but I do not deserve the same reverence as the One true God – the creator of heaven and earth and all things therein. What’s the big deal with saying OM*?

The 3rd commandment states: “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain…”

Vain means empty or worthless.  Just like my own kids calling out my name without provocation, this is what society is doing every time someone exclaims, “OM*!”

We have become a people who have grown accustomed or better still numb to the fact OM* to the point of acceptance. This is what happens when we conform to others’ way of doing things, even if it’s something that seems so insignificant as using a phrase.

God is holy. Casual, everyday mindless use of OM*only relegates God to a stature of less importance.  Think about this, if you met the president regardless if you agree or disagree with the man, you would treat him with respect by addressing him as Mr. President, correct? We should lift God up with the same loving respect in refraining from callously misusing His name to express our excitement or shock.

The name of God should be edified.

“I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.” ~Psalms 86:12

I’ve gotten a wee bit desensitized to the regular usage of OM*. Not to say, I don’t notice because I do and I can predict just about every time when someone will use this phrase. It would be nice if folks thought the same as I do on this matter. All it requires is a new mindset of treating the name of God with more care.

It’s interesting, as I write this I remembered the most interesting and funny expression my DD#2’s ex-boyfriend would use, “Oh my cheese and rice!” While he isn’t actually using the Lord’s name in vain, it does sound like it when said fast and if the brain thinks someone is saying it then to me it’s the same thing. Nonetheless, this did amuse me a bit.

This got me to thinking about respect and honor and these two questions came to mind:

  1. Were you taught to address your elders as “Mr. & Mrs.” or “Sir & Ma’am”? If so, do you still do this?

My parents taught me this a very simple common courtesy to use an older person’s title and if I were speaking to someone I didn’t know by name then I would say Sir or Ma’am. I called my mother-in-law, Mrs. Kennedy up until the day we got married and then I asked her how would she like for me to address her. Even to this day, I’ll call another person sir or ma’am even if that person is younger than me. It’s not only polite, but respectful.

  1. In raising your children, did you teach yours to treat those who are older or person’s in authority to show respect?

I did pass these teaching to our kids. I think to show respect for others is also showing yourself the same respect. I find too many times there are many people who don’t share this same sentiment and it’s quite visible in our society.

Oh goody! Here’s what I decided on from Mama Kat’s weekly writing prompts.

 What do you remember most about your childhood bedroom?

It’s kinda funny last week I wrote about my childhood house on question #4 here. Feel free to read about it, if you want. The one thing I remember most about my childhood bedroom is, it was Grand Central Station or that’s the way it felt to me.

I grew up in rural West Virginia. Yep, I’m a real coal miners daughter. I’m not sure who designed the houses for the coal mine’s company housing, but the architect didn’t put any hallways in them. All the rooms were just joined. I guess it was just cheaper and quicker to put this kind of house up than to get fancy with adding a hallway.

From the kitchen, you could walk straight into my room and from there my parents’ room was on the right and my brother’s room was on the left. Talk about no privacy! That’s exactly what I had. None. Zip. Nah-dah. There were no secrets in that house.

But the one big thing I recall was the time my folks did my bedroom up. I must have been in the 5th or 6th grade when they decided to buy twin beds for my sister and me. Up until that time I shared a room with my brother. I think the big change may have come in part because my folks were going to adopt my first cousin and he would need to bunk with my brother.

Anyhow, I remember how very excited I was all day at school. It was a big deal to get your own bed like this. Trust me! I ran all the way home from the bus stop that day. I recall just flopping down on my bed. Bouncing, bouncing, bouncing where I landed. Everything was so new – the beds, the dresser, the chest of draws, the bedding, the curtain, the rug, and the walls had a fresh coat of paint. The window was open. A cool, gentle breeze filtered throughout the room. I felt like I was in my “own” paradise – my special space even if it was grand central station!

Visit Miss Jenny and the rest of the Alphabe-Thursday classroom for more homework assignments of the letter ‘O’ and while you’re hopping around, be sure to play along with Miss Amanda in her latest edition of  Thursday Two Questions.

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22 comments

  1. One phrase I use all the time is “Holy Cats!” and I forget how odd it sounds.

    I said it the other day at accupuncture and she actually stopped and looked at me quizzically. “What? Did you say Holy Cats?”

    I was sheepish.

    But I try not to say OMG cuz I’m afraid my Dad will hear it and wash my mouth out with soap!

    ha!

    Outstanding link to the letter “O” Miss Cathy!

    A+++

  2. As you know, we just moved from Tucson to Brunswick, Georgia. We grew up saying “Yes, Ma’am” and “Yes, Sir.” Rod went to Lowe’s to buy a riding lawnmower because we now have grass again after 14 years. He told the young salesman that he would be back with me to buy a new gas grill. When we showed up, the young man greeted Rod by saying, ” Good to see you, Mr. Rod!” We are back in the south where we are known as Mr. Rod and Miss Judie. How civilized! Don’t you agree???

  3. This is a wonderful message and I totally agree. We need to be more careful and think about the words that come out of our mouth. Thanks for sharing!!

  5. Being raised in the deep South I was always taught to show proper respect for my elders and I still do that. I was also taught never to talk back to adults which is something I see lacking in today’s children. The way I see kids talk to their parents sometimes is shocking.

    I’ve only done some part time raising of a step daughter but I did try to instill respect for others in her. It seems to have paid off.

    My OMG means “oh my gosh”. I usually write it out rather than abbreviate in comments. Another part of my Southern upbringing.

  7. Amen to OM*! Not spoken here. I grew up addressing other’s as Mr. & Mrs., Bro. & Sis, etc. It would be nice to hear it more often.

    It’s amazing what a simple thing, like a new bed, can do for a young child.

  9. Glad you addressed this issue. Glorifying His name is never to be taken lightly and extending that respect to others comes naturally when you are in sync with God the Father.

    My bedroom was upstairs: drafty in the winter and sweltering in the summer, but it was all mine when my brother and sister left for college♫

  10. Interesting post.

    1. I still treat people with respect in saying Mr/Mrs and Sir Ma’am.
    I also teach my children to do the same. I do not tolerate disrespect.

    Happy Thursday.

    P.s I’m thinking about the OM*. Very interesting. I must say I cringe when I hear it and others.

  11. I wonder sometimes, is “God” God’s name? Or is “God” like brother, sister, you, me and not Cathy, or Amanda…Is it like honey, sweetheart? If so, I would disagree that it is “God’s name” we are calling in vain.
    1) yes, I still refer to the kids’ parents in front of my kids Mr and Mrs, especially teachers and other adults we don’t know well. Some do preferred to be called by first names though.
    2) I do keep this same respect in my culture too…but when it comes to making my kids call someone who doesn’t deserve to be call auntie, miss or something like that in order to make an impression (my X do that to the kids with his GFs) with that someone, that’s when I am totally opposed to it. If I think that someone is nearly my kids’ level in respect, I do not ask my kids to address them with respect. Sorry, but that is how I feel…Have a wonderful weekend, Labor Day and all that good sensation. smiles.

  12. Yes, Miss, Mrs., Mr., were required when I was small. I still find it rather jarring to hear a small child address an older (especially much older) person by their given name.

    I do find that whenever I see the OMG text abbreviation, I don’t think of it as OM*, but rather as OH EM GEE !!!!!

    A very thought provoking O post.

  13. My OMG means- Oh My GeeOsh. Silly, I know. I was taught to use yes ma’am and sir. But I HATED doing it. I always felt like it was a sign of respect and, if someone wasn’t worthy of respect, I didn’t want to say it. But it was shoved down my throat every day of my young life. Which are two reasons why I do not do it unless the person is elderly and why I don’t make the lovelies do it- though the will do it with my parents because the girls know my parents appreciate it. The lovelies are respectful with or without the ma’am and sir. Tone of voice is much more important to me. But DON’T tell my mother. She would have a COW! LOL

  14. I agree with you about taking His name in vain.

    And yes, I was taught Mr. and Mrs. and taught my kids the same!

    =)

  16. I got in trouble with our grandson for saying “shoot.” Apparently he’s overused this phrase and was asked not to say it anymore. I don’t think he’s heard the om* yet, but he’s only 3 and there’s still time.

  17. I was very impressed with your post today. We as a society resort to many times to the OM* phrase. I have always tried to use “gosh” or “goodness” following the OM. My daughter has a four year old who is full of personality. She is a character and you never know what she is going to say or do. We recently realized that our reaction to her antics was not proper. She did something and when I just smiled, she said “No, you are supposed to say “Oh good Lord.” Guess we do things sometimes we don’t realize we even do. Thanks for this reminder.

  18. straight to my heart….and conscience. I’ve been too lax about the “OM*” lately. I heard my kids say it, in front of our pastor’s wife no less. I don’t know if it’s because I see the “OMG” thing so much on the web…in my head I am thinking “Oh my Goodness”, but I think it still causes you to slip up because you know everyone really means the other.
    excellent post! I will do better 🙂

  21. Here in the Philippines, when the person is a few years older,we call them ate for older girl or kuya for older guys. For the people who are at the same age as our parents, we call them tito for male and tita for female. We only call the elders Mr or Mrs or Sir/Ma’am if we feel like that person is of authority or if that person looks like he/she would prefer that. 🙂

    dropping by from Thursday Two Questions 🙂

  22. we’re pretty careful with our “oh my”s. and we try to do golly gees instead. also. my girls are taught to say “ma’am” and “sir”.

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